Huskers Host Bluejays on Tuesday

NEBRASKA vs. CREIGHTON
April 18, 2023
Hawks Field at Haymarket Park | Lincoln, Neb.
 
Tuesday, April 18 – 7:02 p.m. CT
Pitching: LHP Kyle Perry (0-0, 4.97 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Kleinsorge (1-1, 5.16 ERA)
TV/Streaming: Big Ten Network
Radio: Huskers Radio Network – Lincoln (1400 AM), Omaha (590 AM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

Nebraska takes on Creighton for the second time this season in a midweek matchup tomorrow night at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

 

First pitch between the Huskers and Bluejays is scheduled for 7:02 p.m. Tomorrow night’s game can be seen on Big Ten Network, with Larry Punteney and Jeff Leise on the call.

 

Fans can listen to Greg Sharpe and Ben McLaughlin call the action on the Huskers Radio Network, which can be heard on KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln and KXSP (590 AM) in Omaha. Every game this season can be heard for free on Huskers.com and the Official Nebraska Huskers App for both iOS and android devices.

 

Nebraska vs. Creighton

• Nebraska and Creighton have met 145 times on the baseball diamond, with the Huskers holding an 86-57-2 advantage in the all-time series.

• The Big Red have won six of the last 10 games against the Bluejays in Lincoln.

• Creighton has won the last four meetings after winning earlier this season in Omaha. The last time the Huskers won over the Bluejays was on March 26, 2019 with a 6-3 victory in Omaha.

 

2-For-.400

• Nebraska is one of two teams nationally with two everyday starters hitting at least .400 this season at the plate, joining Virginia.

• Anderson is hitting .417 with 13 doubles, two triples, 13 homers, 45 RBI and 29 runs, while Matthews is adding nine doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, 53 RBI and 41 runs with a .409 hitting clip.

 

Trio of Huskers Reach 10-HR Mark

• Through 33 games, Max Anderson, Brice Matthews and Gabe Swansen have reached double-digit home-run totals with 13, 13 and 10 homers, respectively.

• With the 36 combined home runs from the trio of Huskers, the Huskers have three players with 10-plus homers for the first time since Alex Gordon (19), Curtis Ledbetter (13) and Brandon Fusilier (12) in 2005.

• NU’s leader in home runs has finished with 10 in each of the last two seasons, while Scott Schreiber’s 18 homers in the 2018 campaign is the last time a Husker surpassed the 10-homer mark for the whole season.

 

Burnham on Base

• Playing predominantly in the No. 9 spot in the lineup and most recently the No. 2 spot through 25 starts, Casey Burnham is third on the team with a .452 on-base percentage.

• Burnham’s ability to get on base in different ways has been a key component to Brice Matthews’ team-leading 53 RBI this season from the leadoff spot.

• The Kansas transfer is hitting .329 with eight doubles, a triple, a home run, six walks and 13 hit-by-pitches, while third on the team with 27 runs scored.

 

NU Offense Boasts Top Scoring Differential

• After scoring 5.8 runs per game in 2022, Nebraska holds one of the top scoring offenses in the country this season, ranking 30th with 8.3 runs per game.

• The Huskers are tied for sixth nationally and are first in the Big Ten with a scoring differential of +2.5 runs per game from last season to 2023.

• Through 33 games, the Big Red are 15-1 this season when scoring eight or more runs, including 9-0 with 10-plus runs.

 

Huskers Ride Rare 14-Game Home Run Streak

• Nebraska enters Tuesday night’s matchup with Creighton having homered in 14 consecutive games.

• The 14-game stretch surpassed a 12-game streak set earlier this season, which was snapped against Illinois State.

• The 14-game streak is the longest single-season streak in program history since 1998, where the Big Red homered in 21 consecutive games.

• NU has totaled 31 homers in the 14-game stretch, including four games with three-plus home runs.

 

Shutting ’em Down From the Pen

•  Over the course of the last 11 games, the Nebraska bullpen has pitched 50.1 strong innings and picked up a pair of saves.

• In the 11-game stretch, the NU relievers have posted a 1.97 ERA and allowed 11 earned runs, while stifling opponents to a .181 batting average.

• The Husker bullpen has allowed just five extra-base hits (three doubles and two home runs) while striking out 55 batters and walking 17 in the last 11 games.

 

Huskers Slug Seven Multi-Homer Games in 2023

• Through mid-April, five Huskers have totaled seven multi-homer games for the Big Red this season.

• Josh Caron, Cole Evans and Brice Matthews have each homered twice in a game once this season, while Max Anderson and Gabe Swansen have compiled two multi-homer games this season.

• Since 2000, NU has had 76 individual multi-homer games, including a season-high eight times in 2000, 2001 and 2005. The five set this year are the most since having six multi-homer games in 2006.

Numbers to Know

2 – Nebraska and Virginia are the only two teams in the country with two everyday starters hitting at least .400 on the season.

3 – With seven home runs vs. Northwestern on Sunday, the Huskers became the third team to homer seven times in a game against a Power Five opponent in 2023, joining Miami and Texas State.

7 – Through 33 games, the Nebraska offense sits seventh nationally with a .556 slugging percentage.

10 – With Brice Matthews (13), Max Anderson (13) and Gabe Swansen (10) leading the home run barrage this season, the Huskers have three players with 10-plus homers for the first time since 2005.

14 – With 186 career hits, Max Anderson is 14 hits shy of becoming the 27th Husker in program history to reach the 200-hit mark in his career at Nebraska.